IUCN Status: Vulnerable
EPBC Threat Rating: Very high
IUCN Claim: “The species is threatened by introduced predators, the Red Fox and feral Cat especially’”
Cats hunt them (Horsup & Evans 1993; Fisher 1999; Fisher et al. 2001; Augusteyn et al. 2022). Wallabies were last confirmed in NSW 25 years after cats arrived (Wallach et al. 202X).
No correlation was found between cat and wallaby abundance (Augusteyn et al. 2022). No evidence was found that killing cats promotes wallaby abundance (Augusteyn et al. 2022). Cats were not among predators of reintroduced, predator-inexperienced wallabies (Hayward et al. 2012).
There are no studies linking cats to nail-tail wallaby populations.
Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).
Augusteyn, John, et al. “Bringing back the endangered bridled nail-tailed wallaby at Taunton National Park (Scientific) through effective predator control.” Wildlife Research (2022).
Fisher, D. O. “Behavioural ecology and demography of the bridled nailtail wallaby.” Onychogalea fraenata (1999).
Fisher, Diana O., Simon Phillip Blomberg, and Simon David Hoyle. “Mechanisms of drought-induced population decline in an endangered wallaby.” Biological Conservation 102.1 (2001): 107-115
Hayward, Matt W., et al. “Reintroduction of bridled nailtail wallabies beyond fences at Scotia Sanctuary-Phase 1.” Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. Vol. 134. 2012.
Horsup, A., and M. Evans. “Predation by feral cats, Felis catus, on an endangered marsupial, the bridled nailtail wallaby, Onychogalea fraenata.” Australian Mammalogy 16.1 (1993): 83-84
Wallach et al. 2023 In Submission